A Town Named Hetalia
by KatNinja
Summary: My name is Matthew Williams. Let me tell you about this town my brother and I moved to... AU, pairings listed inside because there are too many, Canada's POV
1. Chapter 1

A Town named Hetalia

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Pairings: AmericaxEngland, AmericaxCanada, RussiaxLithuania, AustriaxHungary, GermanyxNItaly, SpainxSItaly

Slight pairingness: FrancexSpainxPortugal, RussiaxLatvia, PolandxLithuania, SealandxLatvia, PrussiaxAustria um... oh! ChinaxKorea

Pairings subject to change.

And Raul is Portugal because there isn't one in Hetalia

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Sometimes, I wondered about my brother.

I mean, I've always loved him and all, but there were times when I truly pondered on his sanity.

This was one of those times.

I guess, to his grief-encased mind, this made sense. His father had just died – yeah, that's right. I'm only his half-brother, but we're closer than some true brothers I know – and Mother had been dead for a while.

But that didn't mean that we had to move to an entirely different continent!

He was leaning against the side of his ship in his 'sexy pose' (don't tell him I call it that, it'll inflate his already giant ego), looking off into space.

Captain Carriedo came up to me at this point in time, asking,

"So, where exactly are you two from?"

"Well," I started, nervous. I was a little shy, "We're only half brothers, and he was raised by his father in the America territory, but Mother raised me up in the Canada territory. After Mother died, I moved in with him and we went to the same school."

"Antonio, actually do your job for once instead of eating tomatoes and talking!"

I heard Alfred snicker from where he was standing. Alfred had never been _caught_ slacking. By anyone other than me, of course. Captain Carriedo was dragged off by the person he called 'Lovinito'.

"Matty?" Alfred said, pushing himself off the side and walking over to me.

"Yes, Alfred?" I asked, wary of what he was up to.

"You don't need to spill our entire life story to them," he said. His tone was light, but I could tell he was worried about something, and somewhat scolding me.

I nodded, and he gave me a hug and I kiss on the forehead.

I knew it wasn't to make me feel better. He always did things like this when he was nervous. When he would do stuff like that when we were younger, I would question him about it. His answer was always the same.

'You're the younger brother, Matty, and Mother told me to take care of you.'

I was only younger than him by two years, and even back then, I think I already knew it was to calm _him_ down more than me.

He was just weird like that sometimes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He sighed and replied with,

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right though."

The ship suddenly rocked violently and I fell to the ground. Alfred stumbled, but managed to keep his balance.

Stupid Alfred.

He reached down and helped me up. I rubbed the back of my head were I had banged it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking worried. I nodded, sincerely wishing I hadn't buried my stuffed bear with Mother. The ship lurched again, and I almost tripped again, except this time Alfred caught me. And _still _kept his balance.

How did he do that?

He sighed quietly – I don't think he wanted me to hear – and hugged me tightly.

"Do people up in the Canada territory have issues with balance?" he teased, bracing himself against the side of the ship as the ship rocked again. It almost reminded me of when we were little, before Mother and I moved. He had always taken care of me. Still was. The ship pitched again, and I grabbed the front of his shirt.

The person named Lovinito came over, sighing.

"I don't see why Antonio and Arthur have to go through this every time. I mean, now we'd just give him the stuff. But no, the stupid bastards have to pretend to try to hit each other…"

I wondered what he was talking about, but did not ask. Finally the rocking stopped and Alfred let go. Another ship pulled up and we followed Lovinito – who was rolling his eyes – onto it. A man with blond hair and green eyes tied Alfred and I up.

"I haven't seen these two before, Antonio." It was a statement, but also obviously a question.

"They're brothers from the America territory, and they're moving to your town."

"Are they now?" the man replied, grabbing my chin and inspecting me.

"Don't touch him," Alfred hissed. The man let go of me, and moved over to Alfred. Alfred glared at him, and the ma smirked. He suddenly grabbed me and started to drag me off. I stumbled slightly, surprised. He pulled me into a room and closed the door. He set about untying me and I felt myself shake.

Didn't Pirates kill… and _rape_?

"You can relax; I'm not going to hurt you. What kind of tea would you like?"

"Um, it doesn't matter," I replied, still a little nervous.

"My name is Arthur," he said, starting to make tea. There was a small stove that probably doubled as a heater when it was cold. "What's yours? You can sit." He gestured at a chair and I sat down, grateful.

"Matthew. Matthew Williams."

"And your brother out there?"

"Alfred Jones."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Different last names?" he questioned.

"We're only half-brothers. Same mother, different fathers."

"And you're both from the America territory?"

"Well, technically I am," I said, before launching into my lecture, explaining everything. Alfred might not be happy about it, but Arthur actually seemed nice.

Arthur nodded at the end of it and stated,

"Your brother is very protective of you. To tell the truth that's why I grabbed you. The look on his face was funny."

"He says he's the older brother, so he has to take care of me."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" he asked, leaning against his desk in a way reminiscent of Alfred's 'sexy pose'. I felt my face turn bright red.

"N-no! Of course not! He's my brother."

"That doesn't stop Antonio, Raul or the bloody git Francis. They're all brothers."

I felt my face get redder.

"Alfred and I aren't that way."

"Okay then," he said, turning to go get the tea. He poured me a cup and handed it to me.

"I bet he's very worried."

I nodded, knowing that he was going to interrogate me later.

"So you two are moving to Hetalia?"

I nodded.

"I have an uncle there who said that it was okay for us to stay with him until we get a place of our own."

"We'll probably see a lot of each other then, when I'm there. Are you done with your tea?"

I nodded and he continued,

"Then we should go relieve your brother's worries."

I stood up and followed him out of the room. Everyone else was untied and allowed to return to the ship. Alfred grabbed my arm and, glaring at Arthur, pulled me behind him.

As soon as Arthur's ship left, Alfred looked me over.

"He didn't do anything to you, right?"

"Nothing except give me tea."

"Really?" he asked doubtful.

"Rea-"

I was cut off by Captain Carriedo saying,

"Matteo is not really Arthur's type. Well, not usually. And believe me, if Arthur had done something it wouldn't really be unwelcome. Even Lovinito-"

"Don't tell them stuff like that!" Lovinito snapped suddenly, "Arthur was drunk and you had been dragged off by Raul and Francis!"

"It's not my fault that my brothers are perverts!"

I laughed quietly. Alfred must have heard me, for his attention returned to me.

"He really didn't do anything?"

"I would tell you if he had."

Alfred nodded and ruffled my hair.

"Good."

"Oh, yeah," said Lovinito, unexpectedly stopping his and Captain Carriedo's fight, "What I came over here to say," he glared at Captain Carriedo, "Is that we're almost there."

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**Author's note**: So, a little explanation.

POLAND RULES THE WORLD. (Why Poland? Because I asked my friend for a country and Poland is the first one she thought of)  
The rest of the world is a territory, but is broken up into different ones.  
And in this, our little Hetalia Characters are not the countries. That's just where they're from(generally).

And yes, this is going to be entirely from Canada's point of view.  
Why? 'Cause I feel like it.

So, I fail.  
I told myself I was not going to post this.  
I told Matt-kun this was only going to have slight AmericaxCanada in it.

I have no self control.  
I imagined a kissing scene.

And thus it was this.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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When we finally got to the small island of the cost of the Italian Territory, it was dark. My Uncle Francis was waiting for us anyway. He went off on in his usual talk about how long it had been since he had seen me and such. But this time, he also started showing us around, a bit, while we followed him home.

"-And that's Gilbert's bar, you don't want to go in there after ten, Ivan's always there around that time. That's Kiku's restaurant, it's got some pretty good food, even if some of it's strange. That's the deli – Ludwig runs it – be careful of Feliciano, he sometimes takes naps in front of the door-"

I listened politely, not having a clue who any of these people were. Alfred seemed to be off in his own world, as he often was now a days. Back before, when he got in one of these moods(which was hardly ever), he would go fly his father's plane. Unfortunately we had to sell it after he died. He was probably aching for that plane right now. He loved flying.

He was lagging behind though, and I doubted that he could find his way anywhere in this town if he got lost – I knew I wouldn't be able to and I _was_ paying attention to Uncle Francis – so I grabbed his hand.

"Keep up," I whispered to him, pulling lightly on his hand. He nodded absentmindedly, and we got to our new house. It was on the outskirts of town, due to the fact that my uncle owned a vineyard and made wine, so he needed land to do that. The house was about two stories with lots of windows.

"I only use one of the bedrooms, so you can pick anyone of them. We'll go get your stuff from Antonio tomorrow. I think Lovino would throw us – well, me, because of all the other times Raul and I went and got Antonio – into the ocean if we went back tonight. You can go to bed whenever you like as long as you don't keep me up. I think you're old enough to pick your own bedtime, no?"

I nodded and Francis vanished into one of the rooms.

"It's cold," Alfred said suddenly, back to his normal self. He grabbed my wrist and started pulling me along as he continued with, "Come on, let's sleep together tonight. We can pick out bedrooms tomorrow."

I felt myself blush as Arthur's words came back to me.

"_Are you sure that's all it is?"_

Alfred picked some random room and we were soon in bed. He was fast asleep, but I couldn't manage to get to sleep. Too many thoughts were bouncing around in my head.

_Have we always been this way?_

_Yes. When we were little he would give me kisses on the forehead and I would cling to him._

_I've never had a crush, but I don't think they're like this. Aren't I supposed to have butterflies? I can't be in love with Alfred, then._

_Maybe I've always had a crush on him._

"Matty?" Alfred's sleepy voice startled me out of my thoughts. I felt him wrap his arms around me, and I almost tried to squirm away. "Stop wiggling so much, I can't get to sleep."

I held still and soon his breathing became even. I could have cried in relief. Sometimes my brother could read me like a book. But he must have been too tired to notice my nervousness. Unluckily his arms were still around me. I soon fell asleep myself, despite this.

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I awoke the next morning to silence, as I was much used to. Even when Alfred's father was still alive, I was still the first person up.

I managed to work my way out of Alfred's hold without waking him, and shivered when my feet hit the cold wood. I stretched, and walked out quietly. I wandered around for a bit, until I found the kitchen. I went through the cabinets, looking for pancake mix and maple syrup.

I _loved_ maple syrup.

As soon as I found some, I started making it. Alfred would be up in a little while, wanting breakfast, and I figured Uncle Francis would want some food too.

"Mornin' Matty. Do you know who much you look like a wife cooking those pancakes? All you need is a pink apron."

I ignored the comment and placed a plate in front of were Alfred was sitting.

"We need to go get our stuff, and I want to look around today." I stated, turning back to the rest of the pancakes I was making.

"You made crêpes, Mathieu?"

I turned to see Uncle Francis.

"Yes," I said, handing him a plate as well, "I was the first one up so I figured-"

"You always make breakfast, Matty. Even on your birthday. I tried to get up early, but you always get up before me somehow."

I laughed, remembering the look of utter disappointment on his face last year on my birthday, when he found me already awake and making breakfast.

"You should go to bed earlier then."

I sat down at the table with my own plate and poured a ton of maple syrup on top of them, and happily ate them.

As soon as I finished, I was practically dragged out the door by Alfred, going to go get our stuff. We came back and picked bedrooms – More like he picked one and I slept in the one next to it. Then I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. I headed out and wandered into town. The streets weren't paved like they were back in the American or Canadian territories, but it didn't seem strange to this town. A few people pointed as I went by, unashamedly gossiping, but I ignored it. According to Uncle Francis, it wasn't very often that people moved to this town.

Suddenly I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I turned and looked down and there was an apple. I picked it up, and looked at it quizzically. Another one came from a tree in someone's front yard, but I managed to dodge this one. I looked up in the tree, and there were two boys. One of them was shaking and whispering something to the other one, who was trying to reach another apple.

"Peter! Raivis!" Someone yelled, "Get out of that tree!"

"Make me!" The one reaching for the apple yelled.

"Peter, I told you that this was a bad idea," the other boy said.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around again, to see to two people.

One of them was glaring at the two boys, while the other was giving me an apologetic look.

"Sorry about them, they do that to everyone. My name's Toris." He stuck out his hand and I took it, shaking it. He then continued, "This is Feliks." He gestured to the person glaring at the boys. "You're either Alfred or Matthew, right?"

I nodded,

"I'm Matthew. Alfred's my brother."

"I'm really sorry about Peter and Raivis. Peter is Arthur's – you know, the pirate? – cousin, and Arthur's supposed to be taking care of him, but refuses to take him with. So he's normally with Tino and Berwald, but they're off somewhere for a little while, so Peter's running wild and dragging poor Raivis along with him."

"It's no problem!" I said, rubbing the back of my head, "I don't think they did any lasting damage."

"Hey, Toris, you and Matthew should have lunch with me!" Feliks said suddenly, having finished glaring at the boys.

"Sure, would you like to come?" Toris asked me.

I nodded, and I was dragged away.

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Lunch was at the restaurant that Uncle Francis had pointed out to me the day before.

A young girl that Feliks called 'Taiwan' served us. The food _was_ a little weird, but good nonetheless. But Feliks and Toris had a slight argument that, from the way it had sounded, had been going on for a long time.

"I don't see why you don't just leave him. He's a jerk and a liar."

"He's sweet when he's not drunk. And he doesn't lie often."

"Oh, _pl-ease_. He's drunk most of the time, and I hope you're not deluding yourself like that."

"He's not drunk most of the time."

"Here's your food," Taiwan said, setting down plates. By the way she was acting, I think she knew full well about this fight, and was doing her best to stop it before it got out of hand. I, on the other hand, could gather nothing other than Feliks disapproved of someone.

After Lunch, Feliks and Toris had to go do something, and I was once again on my own. I wondered around a bit, watching just people in general, before someone clamped their hand down on my shoulder. I jumped, surprised, and someone asked,

"I've never seen you around. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I felt cold metal against my head.

A gun.

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**Author's note**: I cracked a rib over this fanfic! Okay, it wasn't _exactly_ over this fanfic, but I was jumping on the trampoline, wondering what to do for Chapter 3 and a spring broke and hit me in the rib and cracked it!!

It _HURTS_!! And I had to cuss in German because my mom takes away money for cuss words in English and Spanish. XP And I only know one cuss word in German!

Anyway...

Matthew's gonna get shot~


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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FYI - There's lots of AmericaxCanada in this chapter, so if you don't like it then just skip it, but please don't skip the ENTIRE chapter(-pokes Anna-), because there's stuff important to the plot(That will actually exist I SWEAR).

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"My n-name is Matthew Williams!" I squeaked, freezing in place, "I j-just moved here with my brother!"

"Brother! Vash, Wait!" A young girl came running up, "That's Mr. Bonnefoy's nephew, remember?"

"Liechtenstein? What are you doing here? Your piano lessons with Roderich-"

"Mr. Edelstein was busy today, so we're going to play tomorrow instead."

The gun was lowered, and I felt myself relax some. Unfortunately, Vash turned his attention to me.

"So, _you're_ Francis's nephew."

I nodded and turned to face a man in a police uniform. A young girl in a very pretty pink dress was standing next to him. She held out her hand, smiling, and said,

"My name is Liechtenstein!"

"I'm Matthew." I replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

The cop nodded at me and said,

"I'm Vash Zwingli. Liechtenstein here is my ward."

"My brother is the best Officer in the world!" Liechtenstein boasted, hugging Vash. Vash blushed, and said,

"I'm sorry that I overreacted, but because of Arthur, we get a lot of criminals here, so anyone I don't know, I kind of just assume that-"

"It's okay," I said, "Just try not to attack my brother, please. He's… more hot-headed that I am."

Vash nodded and agreed to, before Liechtenstein politely said goodbye to me and dragged Vash off. I made a mental note to ask Uncle Francis why her name was the same as a territory's.

I was about to head back home, when I saw Toris walking up, looking depressed.

"Toris?" I asked. He looked up at me, and faked a smile, which resulted in him only looking in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking up to him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, almost like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, well, I just caught Ivan cheating on me with Natalia, so I'm wondering if I should do what Feliks suggests and leave him."

Ivan… Where had I heard that name before?

"I'm, not sure what to advise you to do," I said slowly, trying to think of what to say, "I'm sorry-"

It was at that moment someone ran past me, yelling,

"I'm sorry, aniki!"

"Im Yong Soo, this is the fifteenth time, aru!" yelled someone else, also running past me.

"I won't do it again!"

Toris giggled, and said,

"Don't look so alarmed, that's just Im Yong Soo and Wang Yao. They do this a lot. They run the clothes store. They make a lot of the clothes themselves and they're very good at it."

"Oh. I don't really know very many people here."

"Don't worry; everyone's really curious about you and your brother. People don't move here very often, so it's quite a big deal when it happens. You'll know everyone soon enough."

"Toris!" someone yelled. I couldn't see them, so I figured they must be somewhat far off. Toris's expression darkened some, and he said,

"That's Ivan calling. I guess I should go talk to him. I'll see you tomorrow, Matthew."

"Bye, Toris," I replied, waving as he walked away. I turned and headed home, praying in my head for Toris.

When I got home, Uncle Francis handed me some dinner, which apparently I had missed, and asked me how my day went. I told him, leaving out the bits that had to do with Toris's problems out of politeness, and finished my dinner fairly quickly. I went into my new bedroom, and grabbed a book.

When I finished it, I looked up and noticed it was dark outside.

I walked out of my room, down the stairs and peeked into the living room to look at the clock. It was ten-thirty, and I realized that I hadn't heard a peep from Alfred, which was unusual.

"Uncle Francis?" I called, "Do you know where Alfred went?"

"He said something about meeting someone at the bar, but he ran out in such a rush, I didn't really understand what he was saying," he replied, walking from wherever he had been, "Why?"

"Well, it's ten-thirty and he's normally home by nine-thirty…" I mused, "I'm going to go look for him, be back soon." I pulled on my shoes and was out the door before Uncle Francis could barely say,

"Be careful!"

I was worried about Alfred. He had a bit of a temper sometimes and he might have gotten himself into trouble with Vash, or maybe with Arthur and some of his pirate crew.

I quietly walked into the bar that Uncle Francis had showed me yesterday, nervous about going in. I looked around, but Alfred was not there.

"Um, excuse me," I said to the bartender, who was cleaning out a glass while watching the pianist.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning his attention to me.

"I was wondering if you saw my brother, um, he's about 177 centimeters and he's got short blond hair and-"

"He dragged Arthur home because the stupid pirate passed out," the bartender said, a laugh to his tone, "That's probably where he is now."

"Um, I don't know where that is-"

"I can show you." A large man cut me off. He had very light blond hair and pale purple eyes. He made me nervous to be near him, and I think I even took a step back. I glanced at the bartender, who was giving me an apologetic look, but making no move to help me.

It would be rude to say no, though, so I agreed to go with him.

He led me through the winding streets, and I was quickly lost.

---------

I don't know how I got home, or when.

Really, the only thing I remember after the horrid thing that happened was crying for Alfred. I wanted him to hug me and make it all better again, like he used to when I was little.

But he still wasn't home.

Uncle Francis did the best he could to calm me down, but I still shook and cried like a small child.

By the next morning I had calmed down enough to pretend to be asleep. I heard the door open and close though, and Alfred's sleepy voice saying,

"I'm home."

"Where have you been?" Uncle Francis asked, somehow hiding the fact that he was angry at Alfred. I knew he was.

"Arthur got really drunk and passed out and I had to carry him home."

"That shouldn't have taken all night."

"Well…" Alfred said, in a tone that made me realize what he had been doing all night. He had been sharing the bed with Arthur. I felt tears gather at my eyes again.

Uncle Francis's voice dropped to a whisper, and I knew he was explaining what had happened. The sound of soft footsteps and the creaking of the old stairs reached my ears. The door opened, and the bed dipped as Alfred sat on it.

"I know you're not asleep, Matty. You might be able to fool your uncle, but not me."

I did not respond, but started crying again, and shaking. Alfred laid down next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay."

I tried to squirm away from him, but he held me tightly.

"It's not going to be fine," I argued childishly. But I was too mad at him to care if I was being immature. "You left me all by myself while you were with Arthur. You love him more than me." It was stupid, but I was too hurt to care.

"No, I don't. It's a different kind of love."

I stood up, stomping a little. He got up, following me.

"No, you just don't understand!"

He hugged me again, and said,

"Then explain it to me."

I leaned my head against his chest, unhappy about the fact he was taller and stronger than I.

"It's just," I started, not knowing what to say, "I, well-"

Finally I just gave up trying to clarify what I meant verbally, and, instead of dropping it like I should have, I stood up on tippy-toe and kissed him. His hug tightened around me, but he didn't pull away. When my brain caught up with the rest of me, I pulled away from Alfred and slipped out of his hold.

"I'm s-sorry," I stuttered, looking at the floor. He sighed very quietly and said,

"I think I get it now."

When I didn't reply, he continued.

"You just made my life very complicated, Matty."

I flinched and, still looking at the ground, repeated,

"I'm sorry."

"It's not really your fault. It's mine for falling in love with both you and Arthur."

I looked up at him, surprised. He was leaning back and running his hands through his hair, as he always did when he was frustrated.

"Al-Alfred?"

His full attention switched back to me, and he slowly walked towards me, and hugged me.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was gone when you needed me. I'm sorry."

He then released me, and walked out of my room, not saying another word. The door closed with a soft click, and I was alone.

---------

I had agreed to go got meat from the butcher's. I hadn't really left the house after that incident, but it was a nice day, and Alfred was off somewhere, probably doing some odd job, and Uncle Francis was busy. I walked down the street, trying my hardest to ignore the stares, and into the butchery that Uncle Francis had pointed out. I suddenly found myself on the ground, having tripped over someone.

"I'm so sorry," I stated, scrambling onto my feet. The person I had tripped over looked up at me sleepily. He had brown eyes, and short brown hair with one curl that stuck out to the side. He looked oddly familiar.

"Feliciano! What have I told you about sleeping in front of the door?!" someone yelled. I turned to see two people. One was holding a knife and shaking his head while cutting some meat. He had blond hair that was slicked back. The other was standing next to the counter. He had short, black hair and black eyes.

"But Ludwig," Feliciano whined, "It's warmest in front of the door."

"I don't care," the blond haired one – apparently Ludwig – replied, "People trip over you."

"I'm sorry about your fall," the third one said, his tone very formal, "Feliciano prefers to sleep in front of the door, unfortunately. You're one of the brothers that sailed over with Mr. Carriedo, correct?"

"Yes, I am." I said, nodding.

"So you came over with my brother!" Feliciano cried happily, "My big brother Lovino is the best!"

So he was Lovino's little brother. That was why I thought I had seen him before. They looked a lot alike.

"Feliciano, if you're done taking your nap, you could do some work for once," Ludwig commented, a light scolding tone to his tone.

"I need to go," the third one interrupted, bowing, "I cannot keep Heracles waiting much longer."

"I'll get it to you by tomorrow," Ludwig said. The third one nodded, and left.

I got the meat that we needed, and headed home. The streets I needed to take to return home were almost completely empty, save on person I passed.

I had never seen him before, which would make sense considering I hadn't met very many people, but he looked oddly out of place here. He nodded to me as I passed. His eyes were a dull red and sent shivers down my spine.

I hurried home after that.

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**Author's note**: This chapter was a b**** to write. Because I wanted to start on the actual plotline (hence the weird ending) but I hadn't introduced everyone and I'm STILL not done introducing everyone. =_=

Anyway, if you can guess what happened to Matthew, you get a (virtual) cookie~

And before you ask , NO. I have no idea who Alfred's gonna choose. I've been going up to my friends and asking Canada or England(With no explaination as to _why_ I want an anwser) and so far England's winning. :D

ALSO - I've got spring break now, so I might or might not post chapter 4 over the next week. It all depends on whether or not I have Internet access in my hotel(I've got a laptop) so yeah.

And I forgot to respond to those nice amazing people who reviewed last time!

Chapter 1:

Death Skater: I'm glad you like it!

EmoLollipop: There's a reason(abet a stupid one) that Poland rules the world.

Myde the Turk: Thank you!

Chapter 2:

Doppel69: May I transfer that A+ into my Adv chem or Pre Calc classes please? :)

TMX Archives: You have no idea how happy your review made me. (Why did I like it? Because it was long~) I'm very glad you enjoyed it! And I wasn't even _thinking_ about a pairing for Japan until you mentioned JapanxGreece, so yeah, there's a little bit of JapanxGreece now. :)

Eagle Fox: I'm very glad that you enjoyed this! And I'm hoping that my rib gets better too.

EmoLollipop: Yeah, it really hurt. XP And my friend actually accidentally taught the German swearing to me, and I accidentally taught her Spanish(In general because I _really_ like the language and just speak it all the time). Ok, I'll stop rambling now...

Little-fox012: Thank you. And Alfred was too busy getting drunk to save Matthew. Stupid Alfred. XP

I think that's all of them...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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The next morning I was making breakfast, as usual, and it was pancakes, again.

I liked pancakes.

If they wanted something else _they_ could get up and make it.

I was startled by Alfred wrapping his arms around me. Normally he wasn't awake until after the sun came up. The only reason _I_ was awake before six-thirty was because Uncle Francis had said that he needed to go to work early, so I was making him breakfast early.

"I really should get you a pink apron for your birthday, and then guilt you into wearing it." He laughed, and I scowled at him.

"Don't do that; that's mean."

"You know that I still love you, though," he replied, hugging me tighter and kissing me on the cheek.

I finished making the last pancake for Uncle Francis and pushed Alfred off of me.

"Don't say stuff like that if you don't mean it," I said, putting the pancakes on the table, with some syrup.

"I do mean it!"

"You haven't told Arthur, have you?"

His silence was my answer.

I was in a weird mood, for me at least. I almost never argued with Alfred, and when I did, I didn't really mean it.

"See? You obviously don't want him to know, so you love him more."

"Matty, don't jump to conclusions like that! You're so pessimistic sometimes."

That hurt. I didn't reply.

He sighed, probably realizing that he had hurt my feelings, and hugged me again.

"I'm sorry, Matthew," I was surprised. He _never_ used my full name. "I shouldn't have said that. I just don't want to see you sad and I know that this is all my fault-"

I jerked out of his hug, not wanting to hear anymore. I didn't want to hear him blaming himself. It wasn't just his fault.

"Matthew…" he was surprised, I could tell, but he didn't say anything more. The silence stretched between us, until I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out of the kitchen, and out of the house. Alfred called my name again at some point, but I was gone. The sun was just coming up, the first few rays of light streaming across the houses.

After getting myself thoroughly lost, I sat down on a bench. The sun was still coming up. I scrunched up into a ball and cried.

What a way to start the day.

"Matthew?"

I looked up to see Toris, who looked as if he had been crying too.

"Hi, Toris."

He sat down next to me and said,

"So I guess we're both already having a bad day, huh?"

I nodded in agreement, still crying.

He wrapped an arm around me and we sat there for a while, both crying.

Soon though, the sun was up, and people started to move around in their houses. Toris's stomach growled, and he said,

"We should probably go get some breakfast."

"We should," I agreed, standing up and wiping the tears from my eyes.

He sighed, making a faced that showed he was annoyed and said,

"The only place open right now is Gilbert's. At least they have food as well as beer. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

I followed Toris to the bar I had gone to look for Alfred before. I felt myself pause, not liking the memories that came with that night. I followed Toris though, and sat down next to him.

"Toris!" The bartender called, "I haven't seen you in here for a while!"

I wasn't quite so freaked out about finding Alfred this time, and I noticed that he had bright red eyes, and platinum-white hair. A strange combination.

"Hey, Gilbert. We just want breakfast."

"Hey, you're that kid who came in that on time, looking for Alfred, right?"

"Um, yes. Alfred's my brother."

"So you're the Matty he's goes on drunken rants about," Gilbert said, smirking a little, "He spends a lot of time in here with Arthur, when the stupid pirate's here."

I felt my heart drop a little.

"Yes, I know."

We both received breakfast, and much to my surprise, Ludwig and Feliciano came in.

"West! You never come to see me anymore!"

"There's a reason for that, Gilbert."

"You're so mean to your older brother!"

"You're my cousin, not my older brother."

Meanwhile, Feliciano had noticed us and drifted over.

"Hi, Matthew! Hi, Toris!"

"Hello."

"Hi, Feliciano! Ruin Ludwig's kitchen again?" Toris asked.

"Well, Lovino kicked me out and I had nowhere else to go so I went to see Ludwig and he was going to have wurst for breakfast so I decided to make pasta and kinda started an oven mitt on fire."

Toris laughed and said,

"Sounds like something only you could do, Feliciano."

Ludwig called Feliciano back over and they sat down and ate breakfast as well.

The rest of the day was spent with Toris showing me around. I met some more people.

Berwald, who was a carpenter, and his 'wife', Tino. They took care of Peter.

Heracles and Gupta, who both took care of the museum.

Eduard, the Estonian who was in charge of the Library and the bookstore.

Elizaveta, a young girl who worked as a maid, and the man she was in love with(which was so obvious even I could tell), Roderich, who wrote songs for the king and was very rich because of it.

I also started being able to get around the town without getting hopelessly lost, which was a very nice improvement.

Toris had to go home though, and I found myself wandering around on my own again.

That was how I ran into him again.

The man with the dull red eyes was there again. He was standing with a group of people this time. This time I noticed his dark skin and hair. He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

I hurried away again.

----------

The front door opened and Alfred walked in, looking overjoyed. I was making dinner.

How _did_ I get stuck making all the meals?

"Matty! I got a job, finally! We can start saving up for a place of our own!"

I had forgotten about the need to get a job. I hadn't ever needed to get one nor had the time to before, considering how I had still been in school. I had dropped out of my senior year of high school to come here with Alfred, who was nineteen and two years older than I, meaning he had already graduated.

Huh. My eighteenth birthday was coming up.

"That's great! With who?" _I should probably get a job too..._ I felt guilty for making Alfred do all that work.

"The carpenter. Hopefully we'll be able to move out soon!"

Uncle Francis choose that moment to come home as well.

"So you finally got a job. Cela est bon."

"Oh, Uncle Francis," I said, remembering something, "How come some of the people here have the name of territories. Like, there's this girl named Lichtenstein and another girl named Taiwan-"

"Either they forgot their name or they won't tell us what it is. Vash found Lichtenstein wandering the streets in said territory, without a memory to spare. And Taiwan refuses to release her name, but she told someone she was from Taiwan and the name just stuck. There's a Belgium, Cuba, and quite a few others like that as well."

"Oh," I said, slightly not listening because I was wondering where I could get a job.

----------

Author's note: fkljhlhjfafkljffdlokjhewj. It's so short and horrible and it took me forever to write and my muse hates me. ljfljahglaljkf. The next chapter will be better I swear. AND my best friend(who pretty much gets to read this before I post it here, sorry.) is like, 'Are you turning this into a LithuniaxCanada?' NO! I am not. fjfgflhoohfhjjhrohislkahgno. They're just friends. Toris is in love with Ivan, and Matt's in love with Alfred. Hmpf.

On a brighter note, I finished introducing everyone - who isn't an oc or slightly unimportant. Cuba's gonna be in there, but he's not important to the plot. And the red-eyed man who isn't Gilbert is an oc country because I needed a bad guy and I love all the characters too much. So... I kinda made one up. -is pelted with tomates-  
Spain: DON'T WASTE PERFECTLY GOOD TOMATES LIKE THAT!!!  
Author: Yeah, really! (They stain clothes, I think and I like my clothes!)

So, random stuffs I feel like adding time now! (Become one with Russia!) I don't think that I can deny it anymore. I finally got around to watching the Hetalia anime and I squeed so loudly when Russia came on. I think my mom's worried about my sanity... But she should be. I'm a Russia fangirl...

Reviews~ (They make my muse and I very happy, -winkwinknugdenugde-)

Superbi: Unfortunately it's not Prussia, but he's still in there... Running a bar...  
EmoLollipop: Yup, poor Matty. My mom doesn't know all the cuss words in other languages so if I avoid English and Spanish, I'm good! (Curse the day I moved near Mexico and mom learned Spanish cussing!)  
Myde the Turk: Yup, and Ivan keeps hurting poor little Toris and it's all very emo. :(  
DeadFace: I'm very glad you're enjoying it! Yes, I'm a sucker for a good triangle too. ;) And if you draw a picture send me a link! and I always update as soon as I can. (But sometimes my muse hates me and doesn't give me any ideas. :( )  
Little-fox012: Yeah, Matt's having a rough time... He even dropped out of school to move there! Good thing he has his new friend Toris to help! :)  
hinatasxbestxfriend: w00t! A vote for Matthew. Poor Matty, all my friends are voting for England...  
Death Skater: Thank you, and yeah, Matthew's having a hard time...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

-----------

The only rational thing I could think of was,

_Why am I doing this?_

I was hiding in Alfred's closet watching Alfred and Arthur kiss.

Very passionately.

The other things I thought involved murder and illegal things like kidnap that I wasn't actually going to do.

They moved to the bed, and I decided to use the door that Alfred had found that went from his closet to mine to escape. I then couldn't get to sleep because of the moaning.

That might not have been the only issue, though, considering how I was crying.

The next day I made breakfast(even for Arthur, who was still there. It's not like he knew.) and went off to go grocery shopping. Everyone else was too busy to go do it, and I always had lots of free time.

I had managed to get everything we needed at a decent price, and was heading home, checking my list to make sure I had everything, when I ran into someone, falling to the ground with a thud and sending my groceries flying.

"Matthew, are you okay?"

I looked up to see Toris, and the person I had run into.

Ivan.

I felt myself pale, and nodded.

"I-I'm fine." I began to pick up my groceries, putting them back in my bag. I avoided looking at Ivan. Toris looked slightly confused as to why I was acting so weird.

"I feel like I've seen you before," Ivan mused, "Oh, I remember. You were that kid at Gilbert's that one night, looking for your brother, da?"

I nodded, still gathering things.

Realization dawned on Toris' face and he asked me,

"Did Ivan show you the way home?"

I shook my head, and Toris looked relived.

"I-I was looking for my brother and Gilbert said he might be at Arthur's, so he led me there."

Toris turned to Ivan, anger evident.

"So you'll make out with Natalia or Raivis and rape people you barely even know, but when it comes to me you barely show any affection or anything, and I'm married to you! Maybe I should take Feliks' advice and leave you!"

Toris stomped off, leaving a stunned Ivan. I took this opportunity to slip away. I walked into the bookstore.

Eduard and Raivis were talking, and I opted not to interrupt them, seeing how it looked pretty serious.

I slipped into the section on sports, picking out a book on hockey. I was skimming through it when someone startled me by saying,

"We seem to keep running into each other, don't we?"

I turned to see the man with the dull red eyes. I could not place the accent.

"It seems that way." I replied, nodding.

The man stuck out his hand and said,

"My name is Amal. I'm from the territory of Morocco."

I shook it and said,

"Matthew. I just moved here from America."

"That accent is not very American." He commented.

"I lived in the Canadian territory most of my life, but my mother died and I went to live with my brother in America. We then moved here."

"You do not look old enough to be moving far away without your parents."

"I'm seventeen, but my brother's nineteen, and considering how both my parents are dead…"

"Do you like hockey?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"Yes, I do. It's my favorite sport."

"Hey, Amal, are you going to laze around all day, or are you coming?" the people he had been hanging out with earlier were standing at the door to the bookstore.

"I'm coming!" Amal yelled back, the then said to me "I need to go. It was nice to meet you, Matthew."

I agreed and he walked away. I put the book back, guessing – hoping – that Ivan had left. I waved at Eduard and Raivis as I left, and headed home. I noticed Elizaveta as I walked by. She was talking to Roderich, a blush on her face. He was blushing too.

I hoped that Elizaveta was telling him that she loved him.

I got home, and put away the groceries. The house was an eerie quiet that it only achieved when everyone else was gone. I sat down in the living room, closing my eyes and just relaxing, when the phone rang. I was surprised to hear Tino on the other side, sounding more than a little upset.

"Have you seen Peter?" he asked.

"Not today, no. Why?"

"I can't find him anywhere and no one's seen him, and, oh god, what if someone kidnapped him!"

"I'll go look for him," I said, hoping that this might calm down the terrified Finn.

"Thank you!" He said, "You're so nice!"

"It's no problem," I replied, "Goodbye."

"Bye!"

I hung up the phone and headed back outside.

After about an hour of searching, I found Peter. He was on the dock, arguing with Arthur.

"I'm not taking you with me! You're twelve!"

"I can still be a good pirate!"

"Peter!" I called. They both turned to me. I ran up to them.

"Peter, Tino's been terrified out of his mind over you," I said, "You should probably get home."

Peter scowled at both me and Arthur, but headed back towards his house.

"Thank you," Arthur said, looking relieved, "He just doesn't get the fact that I'm not going to let him go with me. He's too young. Maybe when he's fifteen. Oh, I have a question for you!"

"Yeah?"

He was blushing, and this made me curious.

"When's Alfred's birthday? I want to get him a present, without him knowing about it."

"It's the fourth of July," I said, ignoring the small voice in my head that told me to lie.

"Hey, captain!" someone yelled, "Come 'ere for a minute!"

"Coming!" He said goodbye to me, and headed back onto his ship. I sighed, feeling depressed now, and walked down the dock. Captain Carriedo and Lovino had come from another sail around, and they waved at me as I walked by. I waved back and continued on.

When I finally returned home, Uncle Francis was waiting for me.

"Are you okay, cher? You have been looking very depressed lately."

"I'm fine," I said, slightly surprised he had noticed. He pulled me into a hug and said,

"I hope that you are."

---------

I was in the bookstore again, flipping through another book.

I really wanted to buy one, but I couldn't waste any money. Eduard was busy shelving some books, but I hardly ever talked to the Estonian anyway.

I pulled out another book, and the wall moved. I put the book back, not finding it interesting and the wall returned to its original state. Then I realized.

_The wall moved._

I pulled the book back out and the wall moved again, revealing a small passageway. I looked around, but no one was near the back of the store. I tucked the book under my arm and slid into the passageway as quietly as I could. I could hear people talking, and I walked towards the sound as silently as I could.

"And put another one there…" someone said.

By the accent, it sounded like Amal.

"But, Amal, that's too obvious a place to put a bomb."

I gasped, then clamped my hand over my mouth.

_Stupid, Stupid Matthew._

I tried to escape back out the passageway, but someone grabbed me and dragged me back.

"Looks like I found a little rat," the person commented.

----------

Author's note: Raivis was telling Eduard how much he loved Peter, y/y? And it looks like Toris has heard the rumors of what happens to you if Ivan shows you home... And Matthew just accidentally made thier relationship a whole lot worse... No worries though, it'll all work out... (probably). And my muse was happy with this chapter. My friend was like "You've been neglecting the AmericaxEngland" and then one of my amazing reviewers said pretty much the same thing, so I tried something, and it just kinda worked itself out from there! -happy-  
Oh, and if you can figure out the thing that made my friend laugh _really _hard you get a giant virtual cake!(and maybe I'll write you a oneshot because I'm bored anyway... and I think it's very funny too, even if I didn't notice it when I was writing it... OTL)

I got to listen to my cat snore while I wrote this... it's a really weird sound...

Okay, I'll stop rambling now... :)

Reviews(Have I told you guys how happy you make me?):

TMX Archives: Yayz! Long review! Anyway, Austria might love Hungary back. You'll just have to read and find out! And Ivan... Has dug himself into a hole with Toris, but! He's really tall. I'm sure he can climb out! OTL  
Emolollipop: Prussia says that he needs to go back to work and asks (not so politely) if you'd kindly release him? ;)  
Doppel69: Thanks for the vote of confidence! Why is it that people who don't even know me in real life are nicer about my writing than my friends are? -cough- Anyway, I think that Canada and Lithuania would be good friends! They're both too nice for their own good... And yes, there is a plot! An evil one! DUNDUNDUN! And Russia is so much love... (says the fangirl...)  
Little-fox012: Yeah, and I get the feeling it's about to get a whole bunch worse... Poor Matty... :( Alfred's... Alfred. It'll be a long time before he decides. He might not even decide until the last chapter! -gasp- And... I very much love Russia. :) (-pushes Belarus over- He's mine!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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The room the person dragged me into was fairly large. I was tied to a chair, and a gun held to my head. Amal walked forward, inspecting me a little.

"So, you've found out about us, Matthew."

"W-well, I p-pulled out a bo-book and the wall m-moved. A-and then th-they sa-id something about a b-bomb."

No one beside Amal even looked like they were going to comment, making it slightly obvious that Amal was in charge.

"Hmpf. Yes, about that little fact, you better not tell anyone, or I might just hurt that brother of yours. I know everything that is going on in this little town, Matthew. _Everything_. So I will know if you tell someone, and I will hurt Alfred."

I paled. What had I just gotten myself, and dragged my brother, into?

"W-why would you place a bomb anywhere here?"

Hetalia was kind of small and in a territory. What purpose could he have planting bombs here?

"I'm bored, why don't we play a game?" Amal asked, and I knew that I _would_ be playing, no matter what.

I _really_ hoped it wasn't Russian Roulette.

"I'm gonna let you go, because I know that you won't tell anyone as long as your brother's in danger. I'll plant clues, sometimes with people, sometimes not, as to _why_ I'm going to place bombs here. See if you can find them and figure it out."

"Amal-" a girl started to say, her tone making it evident about what they thought of this plan.

"Be quiet Larissa, he won't tell. And it'll be fun."

The girl did not reply, and everyone else remained silent. Amal untied me and basically pushed me out the hole in the wall.

"Have fun," he said, the hole closing in front of him.

I placed the book back into its bookshelf, and walked out of the store, nodding to Eduard as I went past.

---------

I wandered around, slightly in a daze.

_Bombs._

_They are setting bombs around._

_I should go tell Vash._

_But what if they find out and hurt Alfred and it's all my fault!_

_Oh, god, what if someone else finds out about them and tells and they think I did it!_

My swirling thoughts were interrupted by someone saying my name.

"Matthew?"

I looked up to see none other than Arthur. I had drifted my way over to the docks.

"Oh, Hi Arthur."

"You look depressed. What's wrong?"

I couldn't tell him about the bomb.

But I could tell him about Alfred.

Alfred had yet to tell Arthur, and I knew it was wrong to keep Arthur in the dark like that.

"Well, I'm in love with Alfred, and he's in love with both of us."

A look of surprise flashed across his face quickly, before he smirked lightly.

"I _knew_ that it was more than just brotherly love. Alfred was much too protective of you."

I felt myself blush lightly, and Arthur continued,

"I appreciate you telling me. You did have an advantage because I didn't know. But, I _am_ a pirate. I don't fight quite so fairly."

Someone called him, and he said bye politely.

I sighed, and walked back home, my mood abysmal.

---------

That night, Uncle Francis was busy and Alfred was staying over at Berwald and Tino's because they offered him dinner. I scavenged in the fridge, freezer, and pantry and found that we were out of food. _Again_. I sighed, wondering where it all went. I threw on my jacket and shoes and headed to Kiku's restaurant. It was almost empty when I got there, and Taiwan seated me almost immediately. Soon I was presented with my food, and I asked if she would like to sit with me, considering how no one else was there.

She complied, and we had a nice chat. Somehow our talk got steered towards Feliks.

"He really is quite nice for being rich," she commented.

"He's rich?"

"Yeah, he's the king's cousin's son. But there was some scandal involving broccoli and he had to move. He still has access to tons of money anyway. I do feel kinda sorry for him though. He's in love with Toris, but Toris is in love with Ivan, even if their fighting right now."

"Really?"

Taiwan nodded.

---------

"Matteo!"

I turned, knowing exactly who it was. Captain Carriedo walking up, Lovino trailing behind him, a pile of papers in his hands.

"Antonio, we don't have time for this, damnit!"

"Lighten up a little, Lovinito! Matteo, how have you been?"

"Fine, thank you. How about you?"

"Bien, bien! Trade has been good, lately, very good. And not too many pirates either."

"That's always good," I said politely.

"Antonio, _now_!"

"Fine, fine, vengo. Adios, Matteo!"

"Bye."

Lovino dragged Captain Carriedo off, and a piece of paper fell off of his pile.

"Uh, Lovino-" I started, but he was already gone. I bent down and picked it up, noticing that it was an old newspaper article.

It couldn't be. That was too easy.

But it certainly seemed like a clue. I pocketed it, and continued with my day.

---------

Late that night, I was in bed, reading. I had gotten this book from the library, and had avoided the bookstore since that incident.

My door suddenly opened, and I looked up to see Alfred.

"Alfred?" I questioned. It was almost twelve.

"Come here," he said, words slurring ever so slightly. I stood up, lying the book carefully on my bed so that my place was kept. I walked over to him and he pulled me into a hug. He gently kissed my forehead and said,

"You know I love you, right?"

I nodded, smelling the alcohol on his breath. I had the urge to push him away, and followed it, taking a few steps back as well. A look of hurt appeared on Alfred's face and I felt guilty.

_Hands were grabbing me and he smelled strongly of Vodka-_

I could feel my heart beat speed up from fear. I didn't want to remember those things. Alfred took a step forward, towards me, but then Uncle Francis was at the door.

"Why are you still up?" he asked us, "Alfred, don't you have work tomorrow?"

Alfred glanced at me before nodding, and leaving. Uncle Francis lest afterward. I placed my book on the ground next to my bed and turned out the light.

----------

Author's Note: I'm sorry this is so late! I came home from spring break and they were like "Tests and homework and all sorts of things!" So, I didn't have time to write. I'm sorry!! So, I'm guessing around 10 chapters, so about 4 more. And, also, I know what pairings I'm going to end with! Mwhahahahahaha.

EmoLollipop: Silly Gilbert is still cussing up a storm... Aw well. Can I have some of that cake?  
sunny8116: Haha, no, although she finds that quite funny now, too. ;) Thanks for the vote!  
Little-fox012: No, he never gets a break, but he will eventually. And I'm glad you like the chapters! There's multiple bombs too. -evil smile- And don't worry, Ivan will figure it out, eventually. Hopefully.  
Doppel69: They haven't done anything to Matty, yet. Thanks for the complement, but I updated late this time! :(  
Crimson-obsidian-rose: Thank you! Amal's a girls name? Opps. No, that wasn't intentional. Aw well, too late to change it now...  
Bisturi: Yeah, Matt seems to be in one issue after another... Thanks for the vote!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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It was quiet down at the beach. I had never really visited this part of the small island Hetalia was on, and I was more than surprised to find the beach uninhabited on such a nice day. I sat down in the sand, the waves washing over my feet.

It was a nice break from life.

Everything had been happening so quickly and it was nice to just sit here, without having to think of anything.

But that alone time was soon interrupted, by none other than Elizaveta.

"Hello," she said, the cheeriness in her voice obviously fake.

"Hello," I replied, "Is something wrong?"

She sat down next to me, the smile being replaced by a scowl.

"Stupid Gilbert won't ever leave me alone. Every time I see him he's always teasing me about liking Roderich. And he even _told_ Roderich before I could, and in front of me too! So, I ran off, and now I don't have the courage to go back."

I sympathized about not having the courage – Alfred used to always tell me to stop being so cowardly – but it was kind of hard to imagine this outgoing girl running out of any kind of courage.

I wasn't sure what to tell her advice-wise either. I had never been in that kind of situation before. So I stayed quiet and listened to her instead. She went on about how mean Gilbert was to her, and how _she_ wanted to tell Roderich, until said Austrian came and got her.

"Elizaveta!"

We both turned and looked to see Roderich walk up.

"There you are, Elizaveta! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"You have?"

Roderich nodded, a blush coming to his cheeks.

"Would you like to come to dinner with me?"

It was Elizaveta's turn to blush, and she said good bye to me, heading off with Roderich.

I sighed as I watched them walk off, Elizaveta grabbing Roderich's hand.

I wish _my_ love life could go that smoothly. I pulled my legs to my chest and leaned my head on my knees.

It was quiet again, only the waves and an occasional bird sounding. But I could not achieve the calm I had before.

Stupid Alfred.

I loved him, couldn't he see that?

I was even keeping my mouth shut so Amal didn't hurt him!

And Amal was planning bombs and they could go off anywhere at any time and so many people could be hurt-

My head was spinning and I was starting to feel sick, so I lied back in the sand, begging my mind to go blank.

_The young Alfred giggled he pulled me into a hug. His glasses were askew and feathers flew around us from the pillow fight we had just been having. I had hurt myself though, and currently had big, hot tears running down my face._

"_It's okay, Matty! I'm here to protect you, and I always will be, okay?"_

A lie, although not intentional. Nothing with Alfred was intentional.

"You're crying, Matthew."

My eyes opened and I sat up suddenly. Amal was standing there, looking slightly amused and slightly concerned.

That was weird.

I scooted away from him and he said,

"I'm not going to hurt you."

But the unspoken _not yet, at least_, still hung in the air, keeping me on edge.

He sat next to me and asked, his eyes lighting up playfully,

"So, what have you found so far?"

I pulled the old news article out of my pocket and recited,

"Hetalia, even for its size, is a major trade center, with thousands of goods going through it annually."

He smirked and said,

"That's one reason, but you should have another by now."

I stared at him, confused.

He just gave me a mysterious smile, standing up and patting me on the head like a child.

"I have to go now," He stated, walking away from me with a sense of finality hanging off of him.

I sighed, and stood up, brushing the sand off of my legs. There was no way I was going to relax now.

---------

Toris had found me wandering around later that day, and we ended up walking around for a while talking.

I did not mention the bombs.

He had forgotten something at his house, and we walked there. It was large, and I felt ill-at-ease in the house where Ivan lived. We were standing in the kitchen, Toris searching through the cabinets, mumbling something about how he really needed to organize the house, when I noticed the picture on the table. I picked it up, and recognized people on it right away, even with it being obviously old.

Toris and Ivan, holding hands, Feliciano, Ludwig, Kiku, Lovino, Antonio, Uncle Francis, Elizaveta, Roderich, and Gilbert. There were many other people I didn't recognize as well.

"Hey, Toris, when was this picture taken?"

Toris glanced at it for a moment before saying,

"A few years ago. My mother took it, and afterwards told me that Hetalia has such a weird melding of people and cultures. Apparently we have a really diverse population."

Toris smiled faintly,

"It was back when Ivan and I were still going out. Feliks moved here the year after this was taken. Actually, someone sent this to me the other day. It was strange; I thought I had the only copy."

I looked back down at it, before putting it down on the table.

"That's cool," I mumbled.

---------

Author's note: Ugh. Short chapter is short. I'm sorry it's so short, but I didn't have time to work on it because I've been busy working on my chem grade, which is in the toilet, and I wanted to get something out, so yeah. This. Meh.

EmoLollipop: -takes piece of cake- Is it? Sounds good. Yeah, the broccoli scandal. I'm not too sure about that. I asked the same friend who picked Poland for a random thing, and she was like "Broccoli". Yeah. I don't understand her. I ship both USxUK and USxCanada. My best friend gets mad because I can't decide which I like more...

Little-fox012: Yeah, he does. And he's so quiet and never really stands up for himself so it just gets worse, and worse... My friend read chapter six to the end, turned to me, and said 'You like to write stories with drunk people in them, don't you?' And I was like, well, not really... And I think that was the only time Matty's seen Alfred drunk in this story so far... The clue thing... was another one of my friend's ideas. (they have way too much influence over my writing, OTL ) I'll tell them you like it!

werxa: Haha, yup. Poland was epic enough to rule the earth.

Death-skater: Thank you! That review really made my day. :D

Chappu Peach: Yup, Amal is smart. That's why he's in charge. And I'm glad you enjoyed the Pirate!Arthur scene. I really just added it in at the last minute, so it wasn't really edited...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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It was a few days after seeing the photo that I got an epiphany. I was in the middle of making breakfast, when I suddenly gasped, and almost dropped the eggs on the floor. I sighed placed them on the table, leaving a note saying that I had gone out. I almost ran to Toris' house, ignoring the time of morning, and knocked hurriedly on the door.

I shivered involuntarily when Ivan answered the door. I instinctively looked away from him, and muttered, my voice shaking,

"I-is To-Toris here?"

He nodded, and turned to the inside of the house, calling Toris' name.

Toris soon appeared from inside the house, looking curious about what I was doing at here at 6:45 in the morning.

"Matthew?"

"D-do y-you sti-still have th-that pho-photo?"

Toris, figuring out source of my fear, grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Ivan quickly, saying,

"Yeah, why?"

"I-I need to know something."

"Okay?"

He grabbed the photo, which was now in a frame, and I asked,

"Who is that?"

I pointed at a boy who was almost part of the background.

"Him?" Toris asked, "That's Amal. He moved to Morocco with his mother about a month after this was taken. His father was arrested and charged with terrorism and working against the Empire. Why?"

"No reason, I was just wondering. Um, can I have this photo?"

Toris, probably realizing that something was wrong, nodded.

"Thanks," I said, "Um, I'll go now."

Toris led me to the door, and I thanked him again before leaving.

I ran back home, and upon opening the door, I was assaulted by questions from Alfred.  
"Where have you been? Are you okay? Don't go and just leave us a note; do you have any idea how worried I was when you weren't in the house?"

"Alfred, I'm fine! I just needed to go take care of something!" I insisted, surprised by the questions and accusing tone.

"At 6:30 in the morning in you _pajamas_?"

"Yes! It was important!"

"It could have waited!"

"Maybe it couldn't have!"

"What's that important?"

"It's none of your business!" I yelled, pushing past him and running up the stairs into my room. I slammed the door and slumped on my bed. I looked down at the photograph in my hand, and slowly took it out of the frame, with the intention of ripping it to pieces, but, turning it over, I paused. There was writing on the back of it.

_Well, Matthew, You've gotten this far. Can you find them now? I've given you hints for this as well. _

_Good luck,_

_Amal_

I paused. He had given me hints for where the bombs are too? I sighed and leaned back on the bed. I flipped the photo back over and dazedly stared at it. It was at the plaza, just as busy back then as it was now. I blinked. _The Plaza_. I opened the drawer pulled out the article, which had a photo of the docks with it. I stood up and quickly got dressed, considering how I was still in my pajamas.

"I'm going out!" I yelled, running past Alfred and Uncle Francis.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business!"

I headed out to the docks, and was very relieved to find that Captain Carriedo's ship was gone. My parade got pretty soaked, however, to find that Arthur's ship was still there.

"Arthur!" I yelled, hoping to get his attention. Luckily, I did, and he was soon leaning over the side of the ship, Peter scowling up at his older brother.

"Matthew? What are you doing here?"

"You need to get off the ship, _now_!" I said, using a tone I was hardly used to, but this was an emergency. I could be polite later.

He examined me for a moment, obviously surprised by my change in attitude. He finally decided that something must be wrong and ordered his crew to go do something in the town. Arthur hurried Peter off the ship, giving me a look that clearly said '_You will explain this later'._

We were only about a block away from the docks when the bomb went off. Arthur looked back at the docks, saying quietly,

"My ship…"

But I was already running to the plaza, hoping against hope that one hadn't gone off there as well. The plaza was still in its normal order, being far enough away from the docks that no one even noticed the explosion. I almost cried in relief, and stopped for a moment to catch my breath.

"Matthew?"

I turned to see Toris and Felix, Felix holding shopping bags.

"You guys need to get out of here!" I stated, "Before the-"

A hand lay on my shoulder.

"Matthew!" The voice was almost a whine, and I stiffened. Amal was here. "You promised not to tell!"

"Amal?" Toris questioned, surprised.

"Hello Toris. Sorry about this, but I did tell Matthew that I'd hurt someone if he told, so, no hard feelings."

Amal's other arm went over my other shoulder, a gun in his hand.

"No!"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

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Author's note: Ugh. LATELATELATELATELATELATE! Luckily, I will have Chapter 9 out by the end of Sunday! Wow, only two more chapters to go! :D

Reviews (These people make me happy!)

Chappu Peach: Thanks for waiting! Yeah... Time is the essence... :(  
KDLizzy's Gay Cookies: Thank you! And I _did_ consider CanadaxAmericaxEngland at one time, but....  
Yami-Marron: Thanks! I can't tell you anything about any upcoming AmericaxEngland scenes that might or might not be happening, because then I'd give stuff away. I'm sorry! :(


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Bang. Bang. Bang.  
I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to see Toris die.  
"Toris!" someone yelled.  
When I dared to open my eyes again, Ivan's back was facing us, standing in front of Toris. Blood poured from three bullet holes in his coat.  
"Ivan?" Toris' voice sounded weak.  
"Are you okay?" Ivan asked Toris. I assumed that Toris nodded, and chanced a glance back at Amal. He was scowling.  
"Matty!"  
I looked to my right to see Arthur and Alfred running towards me.  
"Well, lookie how decided to show up," Amal whispered in my ear.  
"Alfred, don't-"  
My yelling was cut off by an explosion that sent both Amal and I flying.  
I flinched when I hit a tree, and slumped to the ground, not making a sound because the wind was knocked out of me.  
"Matty!" Alfred yelled, running over to me. I didn't want to open my eyes or move or make any sound. My back and the back of my head hurt so much. I guess that he kneeled next to me, because he was hugging me soon after. I suddenly heard a gunshot and felt Alfred flinch.  
I forced myself to open my eyes and said, more weakly than I liked,  
"Alfred?"  
His attention switched to me and relief flashed across his eyes.  
"Your okay," he breathed. There was another gunshot and Alfred flinched again. I suddenly realized that he was getting shot and pushed myself out of his arms. I stood up, and like I had guessed, Amal was standing there with his gun. He looked at me, and our eyes met. I shivered at the clear hatred shining there. He pulled the trigger again, and I pushed Alfred over, and felt the bullet graze my side.  
I took a step back, and heard another gunshot, this time from behind me. I jumped, truly terrified, but the bullet missed me completely and dug itself into Amal's shoulder, making him drop the gun in surprise and pain. I turned to see Vash standing there, pointing the gun he had at Amal.

"Don't move," Vash commanded Amal. Amal glared back, but did as he was told, holding his bleeding shoulder. Vash moved quickly, kicking Amal's gun away from him, and cuffed him.

I'm still not sure exactly what happened afterward. Alfred said I collapsed. I remember people asking me question, and running around. I remember lying in a hospital bed while Toris told me about Raivis getting upset about Peter almost getting blown up, and then yelling at Peter about being careful. I remember Uncle Francis asking if I was alright. I remember Vash asking me what happened.

I cannot place these events on a timeline, though. Everything's a blur. The first truly clear thing I remember is sitting next to Alfred's hospital bed; him making some joke about getting shot.

"Alfred…" I said, interrupting him. He paused, and I could feel myself crying. He sat up, much to my protesting, and kissed me on the forehead.

"It's okay," he said, "I'll be fine."

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Much against Alfred's wishes, he was well enough to go to Roderich and Elizaveta's wedding. Before the wedding, Gilbert had thrown a fit to Elizaveta about getting married when her hand Roderich had barely just started going out. Elizaveta asked why he cared, and the only reason she could think of for why he cared was that he loved her.

He turned bright red and shut up.

Elizaveta was pretty in her wedding dress. This, in Alfred's mind, gave him full right to spend the entire wedding saying how nice I would look like in a wedding dress.

I pinched him when the music was particularly loud.

Didn't shut him up though.

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It was a few days after Roderich and Elizaveta's wedding that I heard Arthur's voice coming from Alfred's room. I took a deep breath to keep from crying and put down my book. I crept to the closet and listened through the door that connected the closets.

"–I'm sorry, Arthur, but I really do love Matty more than anyone."

There was a small silence before Arthur replied.

"There's no hope for me, then?"

Alfred must have nodded, because there was no verbal answer, and Arthur continued with a sigh,

"Fine."

It was silent again and then the door opened and closed.

I moved away from the closet and sat down again with my book, a small smile on my face.

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Author's note: 1 MORE CHAPTER .... Yeah, I'm lame. This chapter was so very anti-climatic for being the climax (and kinda ending; still have one more chapter!).... -cry- Anyway, someone asked for PrussiaxHungary, and then one of my friends was like, "That's a great idea!" And somehow it got thrown in there. So, yeah... -cough- And Ivan saved Toris' life! Don't worry, Ivan lived too. Just had to be in the hospital for a little while. (For some reason, I fell waves of dissappointment about the fact that Ivan lived coming towards me... Hm... I wonder...) Also, before I forget, I counted up all the votes (that includes my friends [and me! I get one vote too~]) and AmericaxCanada won. Sorry to all the people who voted for AmericaxEngland!

EmoLollipop: -looks down at Amal- Poor guy. You can calm down now~! Everything's all good!  
KDLizzy's Gay Cookies: Um... Well... -looks up at how this chapter ended- I hope you're not too mad at me... And Toris lives! And Amal is just being not-a-good-person!  
ValarSpawn: There you go! There's a hint of it! Unfortunately it was during a AustriaxHungary moment..... Sorry! It's not that I don't like that pairing, but I already had AustriaxHungary in this story....  
Bisturi: Yup, Matty is too nice for his own good. So he saves Arthur. And Poland, like, totally does not get shot or anything! To quote him(in my head :D ) "I'm totally fine, kay? Like, stop asking." And Toris is perfectly fine as well! Ivan didn't get the best end of that deal, but he'll be fine too! Just a little while in the hospital. Luckily, Ivan's room is right next to Alfred's, so Matty and Toris get to talk!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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The next morning I awoke to Alfred saying my name quietly, and pushing on me. I opened my eyes, blearily examining my older brother. He smiled, and said,

"It's time to get up. I made breakfast."

What?

My hand fumbled around the nightstand for my glasses, and I put them on and glanced at me alarm clock.

It was off.

I scowled at him, but he said simply,

"It's your birthday; you needed to sleep in."

I sighed, and climbed out of bed. I had hoped that Alfred wouldn't make a big deal out of my birthday. Apparently, that was not going to be the case. I shouldn't have been surprised though.

He beamed at me and pulled me along, down the stairs and into the kitchen. There were some pancakes waiting for me, and much to my surprise, they tasted good.

"Thanks," I muttered, embarrassed.

"It's no problem! It's your birthday!"

He said that throughout the entire day, whenever I said thanks.

At about three o'clock, there was a knock on the door. I was more than surprised, when I opened it, to see Toris standing there with a present.

"Alfred told me that you didn't know about this, so, happy birthday and you have a party now!"

I blinked.

"Alfred decided to throw a party for me?"

Toris nodded, and handing me the present, I moved aside and let him in. Alfred appeared after a while of me letting people in, and scooped me up in a sudden hug. I allowed him to hug me, having been surprised.

The party was lots of fun, and afterwards, I was exhausted.

I climbed into bed, putting the new book I had received from Elizaveta on my nightstand, and snuggled under the covers.

I was just about to turn off the lamp and go to bed when Alfred came in, holding what was obviously a present.

He was blushing slightly, but had a smile.

"Just my presents left!" He said, "And then you can go to bed!"

The box was thrust into my hands, and I sat up. Alfred sat on the bed as I slowly undid the wrapping paper. I opened the box and sighed heavily seeing what it was.

A pink apron.

Alfred smiled mischievously and said,

"I told you I thought you'd look good in one. But! That's not my only present. Well, I hope you'll still want it."

I wondered what he was talking about, until he leaned towards me and kissed me.

When I responded, he wrapped his arms around me, shifting until he was hovering over me.

"I love you," he whispered between kisses, "and only you. Forever."

I must say that it was the best birthday gift ever.

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Author's note: Phew. Done. Well, it was fun to write! I hope everyone enjoyed it! And I was finally shown how to use the review reply (haha, I fail) so I can respond to any last reviews that way! Well, this is going to make me sound really over-confident in my ideas, but I'm going to say this anyway, because someone already asked. You may make a sequel or whatever with this idea, but there's two things I want you to do! 1, send me a PM and tell me your going to! I wanna read it! 2, please keep the original happenings the same! Like, Alfred has to go with Matthew, the bombs have to still go off, ect, ect. Okay, shutting up now!

Reviews:

EmoLollipop: ... To tell the truth, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. He's Ivan! And it was sweet to throw himself in front of Toris and I was like, no, I can't. -sweatdrop-  
KDLizzy's Gay Cookies: Arthur could love Francis! -bricked- -cough- and yes! Ivan loves Toris more than Toris realized!  
Lone Kunoichi: Aww~! Thanks! But yes, this is the last chapter! Yay for right guessing! As far as I know, your the only one to guess correctly, and I always make all my friends try and guess what happens next! And Arthur just broke into the jail later to beat Amal senseless. He was in a daze for the first few days.


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